


Lírio Metálico

by seventeenwonders



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, F/F, Fluff and Humor, No Angst, Rated M for language, lin is a softie for kya, no beta we die like lesbians, this is just 2.5k words of kya teasing lin, which is surprising coming from me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:35:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27690782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seventeenwonders/pseuds/seventeenwonders
Summary: Lin marveled at the idea of how her love for Kya grew and flourished and blossomed, all the while staying the same in essence. "Just like the most stunning garden or a golden tattoo marked on our skins." She chuckled at the thought, shaking her head. Kya had truly transformed her.ORThe Flower Shop x Tattoo Parlor AU throughout the seasons of Kya and Lin's love.
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 5
Kudos: 61





	Lírio Metálico

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday, Élice!! Hope you'll enjoy this small token of appreciation.

**SUMMER**

As a 17-year-old teenager, Lin Beifong was tired of hearing her sister's complaints. Ever since they've entered that car, Suyin couldn't stop talking. Yes, Lin was well aware that Su was missing what seemed like the most important party of the year, and she was also aware that Toph was the meanest woman on Earth and their grandparents were the most boring people she could ever meet and-

"Su! I get it! Mom's a bitch, you're pissed off, Lao and Poppy bore you to death. It's _one_ weekend at your grandparent's home, for God's sake, it won't kill you!"

After the older girl's small explosion, Su shut up for the rest of the ride. Lin was sure her little sister added her name to her blacklist, right under Toph's, but she didn't care. Who would've thought that fourteen years old could be so annoying? 

Upon arriving at the house, Lao and Poppy were waiting for the sisters right by the entrance, waving excitedly at them as the car pulled over. Lin and Su got out of the vehicle and hugged their grandparents, right before taking their luggage out of the trunk.

After the pleasantries were exchanged and Su’s mood was slightly improved by the promise of ice cream that afternoon, Lin excused herself and headed to her bedroom in the summer residence.

Wandering through the mansion’s corridors, it hit the teenager how _rich_ her grandparents actually were. Living at her mother’s apartment in a big, loud city always made Lin forget that her family came from money, even if Toph didn't use it. 

Lao and Poppy were, after all, the owners of the country's largest agribusiness company; a firm so big that it had many branches that lined up with the corporation's main products. Fortunately, Lin's favorite store owned by the Beifongs was only a fifteen-minute drive from the mansion and the girl always made sure to drop by when visiting the town. 

"Lin?" A voice called from downstairs. "Your grandpa is going to the flower shop and then he'll buy some ice cream for Su, are you going to accompany him?"

"Yes!" Lin dropped her backpack on the floor quickly and practically ran towards the door, where Lao was waiting. The man smiled at his granddaughter while holding the car's door for her.

"Old habits die hard, huh?" Lin rolled her eyes at her grandparent's provocation but entered the vehicle. 

Looking out the window, the Beifong heir wouldn't classify the city she was currently in as a small one. It certainly was no New York or Paris, but it was busy and people kept filling the streets wherever Lin glanced over. _"I could easily grow old here.",_ the teenager thought to herself. She didn't understand why Su hated the idea of going up north so much, the place had the best of both worlds; it was peaceful enough for a person not to have a heart attack in their sixties all the while being energetic enough for a person not to die of boredom.

But the best part of the town was, by far, the flower shop that stood right in the middle of it. Exiting the automobile, Lin rushed to the store, greeting the few people that worked there. Contrary to most of the Beifong's establishments, the Lírio Metálico was a small, personal project of her grandfather and Lao had no plans on expanding it (as he did with most of his business). 

It was Lao’s sacred haven, a place where he could actually see the beauty of all the years of hard work. Ever since Lin was a little kid, the man shared his paradise with her and the girl grew to love it. So out of character, as some of the people back home might think. Lin Beifong, the Chief of Police's daughter; Lin Beifong, the toughest kid someone could ever meet; Lin Beifong, the girl at the top of her class and the fiercest football player in high school; Lin Beifong, the teenager who had a soft spot for flowers. 

"Alright, I'm gonna get Su's ice cream, do you want something from the market?" 

"I'm fine, thanks." 

The minute Lao left, Lin picked up a small notebook from the counter and started taking notes of all the new plant species the girl hasn't seen the last time she was there. The almost mechanical work (writing down the Linnaean nomenclature, making a shitty sketch of the flowers, repeat) made the teenager feel at peace, a thousand miles away from reality, from home, from school. A safe space, truly. She was so focused on the task at hand, Lin barely noticed someone approaching her. 

"Excuse me, do you work here?" A female voice inquired. 

"Actually, I-" 

Lin turned to answer, but couldn't quite make her brain function properly at the sight of the woman standing in front of her. The first thing she noticed was the blue eyes and black hair coming together perfectly to frame the face of the stranger that had just walked into the shop. The second thing she noticed was the woman's right arm, which was covered in tattoos from shoulder to wrist. Lin had never been a fan of the art, but she couldn't deny that it made the unknown woman look even more gorgeous. 

The stranger seemed to take great pleasure from Lin's starstruck state, her lips curving upwards not-so-subtly while red hit the girl's cheeks. Noticing she was making herself look like a fool in front of the pretty lady, Lin shook her head, pushing her feelings down. 

"My name is Lin. I don't work here, but I can help you. This is my grandpa's store." The teenager explained. 

"Oh, is it really? Marvelous! I needed some help putting together a bouquet, so maybe you're the right person."

Lin felt her heart sunk. "Uhm, is it for a special occasion?" 

"I don't have a girlfriend, if that's what you're asking." The nameless girl winked at her and the teenager felt her face getting warmer again. 

"Not exactly what I was asking," Lin clarified, "But good to know nonetheless." The Beifong said with the courage she had left in her veins, right before turning around to get some flowers for her client. 

"I'm actually going to see my mom for the first time in a while and I'm trying to buy her forgiveness with petals. Y'know, dropping out of med school to pursue a tattoo artist dream is not exactly an easy thing for a mother to forget."

The humorous tone in the wanna-be tattoo artist’s voice made Lin smile. 

"Don't worry, mom problems are kinda my specialty." 

With that being said, Lin started to arrange the woman's gift. White tulips and yellow roses were delicately wrapped together by the teenager's fingers. Lin could feel the other girl's eyes on her hands, but she didn't sense any kind of judgment, just a slight curiosity on how a florist did their job. After finishing the bouquet up, the teenager presented it to her client.

"Yellow roses mean friendship and caringness, while white tulips symbolize forgiveness and respect. I think your mother will enjoy it." 

Lin saw how the stranger's eyes shined a little bit brighter while examining the flowers with the tip of her fingers, and how her smile grew a little bit softer when she smelled them. 

"Thank you. They are perfect." The tattooed woman said whole-heartedly. 

Lin smiled in return, guiding her to the cash register. After the woman paid, she asked Lin for a piece of paper and a pen, which Lin happily gave.

"Would you like a gift card to go with the flowers as well? I'm sure we've got some lovely new arrivals around here somewhere..." The teenager turned to search for them, but the older woman stopped her with a touch on her hand. Then, she slipped the piece of paper back to Lin's fingers. The 17-year-old froze for a millisecond, the soft contact on her bare skin electrifying her soul. 

"My name is Kya, by the way. I work across the street. Lemme know when you feel like getting out of your grandpa's store and paying me a visit."

Lin's heart skipped a beat at the words. Her brain short-circuited and her voice didn't come out, the only thing left for her to do was nod like an idiot in love. When Kya left the store, she looked down at her hands and read the piece of paper. 

_Next time, I'm buying you a red rose bouquet. Call me._

_xx,_

_Kya_

Kya’s phone number was inscribed right down her name. 

Looking across the street, Lin saw the tattoo parlor and a funny feeling took over her body. Maybe, just _maybe,_ her favorite spot in the city was not the flower shop, after all. 

* * *

**AUTUMN**

As a 19-year-old young adult, Lin Beifong was nervous. Not the terrible kind of nervous, but the oh-my-God-I'm-about-to-see-the-girl-I-ghosted-for-two-years kind of nervous. Honestly, she had no one to blame but herself. When Kya gave her phone number to Lin, the teenager felt like she was getting pranked by some great force of the universe; a gorgeous girl doesn't simply fall into her lap out of nowhere, that was a Hollywood kind of thing. 

She just stared at the piece of paper for the first three weeks, too afraid to make any move. When a month went by and Lin still hadn't texted Kya, she told herself it was too late now and she had other things to focus on, which was true. Her high school had come and gone; college applications, uni interviews, exams after exams occupied most of her daily routine. But now, two years after graduation, Lin couldn't shake the thought of a certain tattoo artist out of her head and she didn’t know _why_. 

So naturally, Lin did the only reasonable thing after disappearing for 24 months: she scheduled an appointment with the tattoo artist she avoided for a couple of years. 

Of course, standing outside of the parlor right now, the uni student realized how fucking stupid her idea was. 

"Your name's Beifong?" A skinny boy, who Lin assumed was the secretary, asked her as soon as she stepped on the salon. 

"Yeah."

"Room 2 is waiting for you, it's down there." The boy pointed to a corridor.

Lin thanked him and followed the direction he pointed, knocking at the door when she got there. 

"Come on in!" 

Lin opened the door, half mortified and half hoping Kya completely erased her face off her mind. 

"Lin?" Her wishes, as usual, were not attended... but this time, the woman felt a wave of relief and surprise washing through her instead of the familiar anger and sadness. 

"Hi." The uni student shyly responded, not even knowing where to begin. Thankfully, Kya seemed to have all the answers.

"Oh my God, it's been what... a year? Two?" The tattoo artist stood up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Lin retributed, still in shock. The younger woman barely dared to dream Kya remembered her face, much less know how long it's been since they've met for the first time. 

Lin realized, just now, that their first meeting could've left an impression as strong on Kya as it did on Lin. 

"Yeah, haven't been around here much." Kya sat down and indicated Lin to do the same. "I've been busy with some stuff."

"Oh, I could tell. Your flowers really did seem to overload you." The tattooed girl said, lightly joking. 

"Fuck you." The woman answered, but didn't mean a single syllable, and Kya knew it from the smile on her lips. 

"So, what are you up to right now?" 

"I've enrolled at university. Biology major."

"Why am I not surprised about that?" Kya chuckled. "But I was actually asking about _why_ you're here." 

Lin put a hand on her face, hiding her embarrassment. What was it with this woman that always made Lin act like a fool?

“Oh, right. That makes more sense." She took her cellphone out of the pocket and showed Kya a picture. "I wanted to tattoo this."

Kya took the cellphone in her hands, looking at the image displayed on the screen. "A red rose, huh?" The artist raised an eyebrow while a hint of playful smiled danced on her lips. A memory from a certain piece of paper hung over them. Lin just nodded. 

"Alright, I'm gonna draw this, and then you'll tell me what you think. Do you know where this is going to go?" 

"My right rib." 

Kya got to work. In a few minutes, Lin was presented with a perfect version of what she had in mind, her fingers tracing the drawing in adoration. She told Kya she loved it, and the artist offered her the faintest smile in gratitude.

Then, Kya asked her to lay down on the stretcher and take off her shirt, which Lin did with a warm face. Having her materials prepared, the artist got closer to Lin, her hands applying the sticker on her ribs. 

"So, this is the hard part. You ready, Beifong?" 

"’Course I am." 

Kya, giggling softly at the answer, started to pierce the needle into her client's skin. Lin closed her eyes in pain, but didn't say anything. The artist knew - from both experience and through her textbooks in med school - that the particular area Lin had chosen was extremely sensible, so the woman decided to try to distract Lin. 

"Y'know, I gotta admit, I wouldn't forgive someone for ghosting during two years, but you coming to my studio and getting a tattoo from me was such a great effort that I might as well make an exception." 

Lin rolled her eyes, but the pain seemed less acute with the sound of Kya's words. "I'm not here for you." 

"You're not? Then _why_ are you here? I'm sure there is a thousand talented tattoo artist near your uni." _Touché._

"Fuck you." Lin said once again, and once again, the sweet sound of Kya's laughter filled the room. 

From there on, the session went smoothly. Kya was almost done when she hit a particularly painful spot that made Lin tense up. She looked up at her client's face. 

"You ok?" Lin nodded and Kya continued the drawing on her skin. "Good girl." The artist whispered and Lin's breath hitched. 

Noticing the change in Lin's behavior, Kya just _couldn't_ miss the opportunity. "Wouldn't have guessed you as one to have a praise kink, but that's good to know." 

"How many times this afternoon will I have to tell you to go fuck yourself?"

"Well, as many times as necessary for you to summon up some courage and fuck me yourself." Kya didn't even hesitate, it was like she had been waiting for this ever since Lin entered the room. And honestly, Lin made it too easy. 

"Alright, I'm finished. You can stand up now and tell me what you think." Kya turned around to take off her gloves and put the needle down.

When she faced Lin once more, the younger woman was sitting up on the stretcher, with a thoughtful look on her face. Before Kya could tease her about it, Lin grabbed the older woman's wrist and closed the space between them. 

Kya was taken aback, but quickly recovered. She put her arms around Lin's shoulders and melted into the kiss. The afternoon was indeed full of surprises, and all of them were as sweet as Lin’s lips.

Neither of the girls could tell how much time had passed, the concept felt meaningless when their mouths were on each other. Nevertheless, Lin broke away to catch her breath, their foreheads still touching. For the first time that day, Kya was speechless, still trying to piece together the sequence of events. 

"Am I forgiven now?" Lin’s voice broke into her thoughts.

The tattoo artist laughed and put her mouth on Lin once again.

Kya canceled all her appointments for that day. 


End file.
